Cancer Specialists

Helping to Provide the Best Possible Diagnosis

Historically, cancer has been diagnosed using histopathology, which has well known limitations as tumors of similar grade can display very different biological behaviors

Innovations in technology have recently advanced gene expression as a key molecular marker for the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of cancer. With next generation sequencing of RNA (RNA-Seq), it’s now possible to examine the entire cancer transcriptome that includes expression level of all genes, their transcript variants and analysis of the mutational landscape. This provides unprecedented insight into tumour biology.

iTP Biomedica is a diagnostics company that was launched by Mount Sinai Hospital’s Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, one of the leading research institute’s in the world. Our proprietary bioinformatics platform handles massive data sets to deliver a functional readout of the entire genome that consists of 20,000+ genes and their associated cellular networks. This provides superior molecular tools to help deliver the most accurate diagnoses possible.

Our team consists of leading researchers, clinicians and urologists who are internationally renowned in cancer diagnoses and care.

Initial Focus on Bladder Cancer

iTP’s initial cancer diagnostic, BladderPredict™ was developed to meet the unmet demand for diagnostic tools in the bladder cancer clinic. Why bladder cancer?

Five-year survival rates in bladder cancer are not improving.

Prior to BladderPredict™, there was no tissue-based molecular test that assessed tumour aggressiveness.

In 2004 the grading system was changed from a 3 grade system (grade 1, 2 and 3, 1973 WHO classification) into a 2 grade system (low grade vs high grade). Too many non-muscle invasive tumors were being classified as grade 2 due to pathologist uncertainty as to whether a tumour was truly grade 1 or grade 3. As a result, the intermediate grade (grade 2), which was the subject of controversy and very important inter observer variability, was eliminated. However, while the 2004 WHO classification (low grade vs high grade) has better reproducibility than the WHO 1973 classification, its prognostic value is quite poor.

Even with the WHO grading system, discrepancy in grade assignment remains. While 70% of tumours are originally diagnosed as Low Grade and indolent, and 30% are High Grade (aggressive and can spread), inter-observer variability remains in up to 40% of cases.

BladderPredict™ is a laboratory-developed test (LDT) that can, for the first time, provide a molecular classification of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer using next generation sequencing (Liu et al., Eur. Urol.). When used in conjunction with classical pathology, BladderPredict™ can identify tumours that may be at risk of following a more aggressive clinical course.

In a sample size of almost 400 patient samples with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer tumours, analysis of the whole transcriptome by BladderPredict™ properly identified tumours that followed a more aggressive clinical trajectory.

In addition to its unprecedented accuracy, BladderPredict™ is easy to use

For more information about BladderPredict™ and how it could help provide the most accurate diagnoses possible, please contact info@itpbiomedica.com.